Intentions to Marry, 1895 July-December

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840408, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, June 11 2025

1895 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 316

District of Quinam Quarter ending 30 September 1895 Registrar Thomas Hawley

Date of Notice

Names and Surnames of Parties

BDM Match

Condition

Calling or Profession

Age

Dwelling Place

Length of Residence

Marriage Place

Folio

Consent

Date of Certificate

Officiating Minister

3 July 1895

John Thomas Ellis
Margaret Cecilia Larkin

John Thomas Ellis
Margaret Cecilia Larkin
💍 1895/1333

Bachelor
Spinster

Coach Painter

20 years
19 years

Quinam
Quinam

15 years
17 years

Registrar's office

95/2670

Lydia Ellis, Mother. Father dead. James Larkin, Father.

3 July 1895

Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

No	24
Date of Notice	3 July 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Thomas Ellis	Margaret Cecilia Larkin
	💍 1895/1333
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coach Painter
Age	20 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	15 years	17 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's office
Folio	95/2670
Consent	Lydia Ellis, Mother. Father dead. James Larkin, Father.
Date of Certificate	3 July 1895
Officiating Minister	Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

15 July 1895

Harry Shelker
Mary Ann Puttick

Harry Shelker
Mary Ann Puttick
💍 1895/1334

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

26 years
26 years

Quinam
Kingsdown

15 years
12 years

Registrar's office

95/2671

15 July 1895

Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

No	25
Date of Notice	15 July 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Shelker	Mary Ann Puttick
	💍 1895/1334
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	26 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Kingsdown
Length of Residence	15 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's office
Folio	95/2671
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 July 1895
Officiating Minister	Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

22 July 1895

William Martin
Emma Bebbington

William Martin
Emma Bebbington
💍 1895/1610

Bachelor
Spinster

Horsebreaker

32 years
21 years

Quinam
Quinam

3 years
6 months

Presbyterian Church, Quinam

95/2960

22 July 1895

Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian Minister

No	26
Date of Notice	22 July 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Martin	Emma Bebbington
	💍 1895/1610
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Horsebreaker
Age	32 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	3 years	6 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Quinam
Folio	95/2960
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian Minister

23 July 1895

John Hill
Lillian Ernestine Coe

John Hill
Lillian Ernestine Coe
💍 1895/1609

Bachelor
Spinster

Dancer

21 years
27 years

Quinam
Quinam

3 days
6 months

Presbyterian Church, Quinam

95/2959

23 July 1895

Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian Minister

No	27
Date of Notice	23 July 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hill	Lillian Ernestine Coe
	💍 1895/1609
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dancer
Age	21 years	27 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	3 days	6 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Quinam
Folio	95/2959
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 July 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian Minister

29 July 1895

Martyn Henry Todd
Margaret Nicholson

Martyn Henry Todd
Margaret Nicholson
💍 1895/1338

Bachelor
Widow

Porter
Cook

31 years
28 years

Quinam
Quinam

3 years
28 years

Primitive Methodist Church, Quinam

95/2675

29 July 1895

Rev. Joseph Sharp, Primitive Methodist Minister

No	28
Date of Notice	29 July 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Martyn Henry Todd	Margaret Nicholson
	💍 1895/1338
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Porter	Cook
Age	31 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	3 years	28 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church, Quinam
Folio	95/2675
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 July 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Joseph Sharp, Primitive Methodist Minister

1 August 1895

Hiram Edwin Rawstorn
Elizabeth Rock

Hiram Edwin Rawstorn
Elizabeth Rack
💍 1895/1335

Bachelor
Spinster

Machine Smith

21 years
21 years

Quinam
Quinam

21 years
16 years

Registrar's Office

95/2672

1 August 1895

Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

No	29
Date of Notice	1 August 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hiram Edwin Rawstorn	Elizabeth Rock
BDM Match (96%)	Hiram Edwin Rawstorn	Elizabeth Rack
	💍 1895/1335
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Machine Smith
Age	21 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	21 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	95/2672
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 August 1895
Officiating Minister	Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

5 August 1895

Frederick William Glasson
Christina Morrison

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Domestic Servant

30 years
24 years

Quinam
Quinam

30 years
4 years

Residence of Mr. Robert Stuart Reid, Quinam

95/2961

5 August 1895

Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian Clergyman

No	30
Date of Notice	5 August 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick William Glasson	Christina Morrison
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Domestic Servant
Age	30 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	30 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Robert Stuart Reid, Quinam
Folio	95/2961
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 August 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian Clergyman

22 August 1895

Francis Charles Cowles
Margaret Haston Miller

Francis Charles Cowles
Margaret Hastan Miller
💍 1895/1336

Bachelor
Spinster

Coal Merchant

21 years
21 years

Quinam
Quinam

3 months
4 days

Registrar's Office

95/2673

22 August 1895

Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

No	31
Date of Notice	22 August 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Charles Cowles	Margaret Haston Miller
BDM Match (98%)	Francis Charles Cowles	Margaret Hastan Miller
	💍 1895/1336
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coal Merchant
Age	21 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	3 months	4 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	95/2673
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 August 1895
Officiating Minister	Thomas Hawley, Registrar of Marriages, Quinam

30 August 1895

Thomas Werry
Emma Louisa Turner

Thomas Werry
Emma Louisa Turner
💍 1895/1339

Bachelor
Spinster

Miller

29 years
32 years

Quinam
Quinam

3 days
6 months

Residence of Mr. Henry John Turner, Quinam

95/2676

30 August 1895

Rev. Charles E. Beecroft, Wesleyan Minister

No	32
Date of Notice	30 August 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Werry	Emma Louisa Turner
	💍 1895/1339
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miller
Age	29 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Quinam
Length of Residence	3 days	6 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Henry John Turner, Quinam
Folio	95/2676
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 August 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Charles E. Beecroft, Wesleyan Minister

11 September 1895

Richard Frank Batchelor
Hannah Lowney

Richard Frank Batchelor
Hannah Louney
💍 1895/1337

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver
Domestic Servant

29 years
26 years

Quinam
Levels

1 year
20 years

Roman Catholic Presbytery, Quinam

95/2674

11 September 1895

Rev. Louis Marlier, Roman Catholic Priest

No	33
Date of Notice	11 September 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Frank Batchelor	Hannah Lowney
BDM Match (96%)	Richard Frank Batchelor	Hannah Louney
	💍 1895/1337
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver	Domestic Servant
Age	29 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Quinam	Levels
Length of Residence	1 year	20 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Presbytery, Quinam
Folio	95/2674
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 September 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Louis Marlier, Roman Catholic Priest

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

What is an Intention to Marry?

The 1854 Marriage Act required Pakeha settlers (and later Maori) to register their intention to marry from 1855. The resulting Notices of intention to marry were sent by the district registrars to the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and bound into large volumes, each containing a year of notices. These registers were eventually deposited with Archives New Zealand.

What information does an ItM record?

A typical Intention to Marry notice records:

the bride and groom's full names
occupation of the groom (and sometimes the bride)
their ages
district where the marriage would take place
how long they had resided in the district
Where the marriage would take place (eg, a specific church)
Who would officiate the marriage (eg, a minister)
The date of the notice and also a date when the certificate was issued. Marriages had to take place within 3 months, and usually occurred within a week or so of the certificate date.
If one of the parties was under 21, a parent who consented to their marriage was usually specified

These details can provide clues for genealogical and historical research. Knowing the date and district makes it easier to look for wedding notices in Papers Past, and the amount of time that the parties had resided in a district can offer clues to whether a person was born in NZ, or when they immigrated.

However, finding individual records in the Intentions to Marry registers was typically a slow and manual process, usually requiring an in-person visit to Archives NZ's Wellington office (during limited opening hours) and using a handwritten card catalogue index to look up individual names.

Eight years of the registers had been digitised by Archives NZ prior to 2024, but even these digital versions required the use of a manual index and usually examining several pages to locate specific records.

What is the Intentions to Marry Project?

This project aims to transcribe the New Zealand Intentions to Marry registers (from 1855 to 1925) with the assistance of new technology (AI), making the records freely available and easily searchable.

The ITM records have also been cross-referenced with the registered marriages at DIA Births, Deaths and Marriages, where possible (a small fraction of the recorded intentions to marry did not become a registered marriage).

Currently we have almost all records between 1855 and 1903. More registers are being added almost every week.

The project is led by Luke Howison, a web developer who made the free genealogical research search tool NZ Ancestor Search Helper and Archway-style Collections Search. There are also some wonderful volunteers assisting with digitising the registers.

Can I volunteer to help?

Yes, you can! You can sign up to correct errors in the transcribed records and match ITMs with registered marriages.

I am also looking for Wellington-based volunteers to help me digitise more years of the registers. I can provide lighting equipment and a 'clicker' (to trigger your phone's camera).

How is the transcription done?

There are several steps to digitising and transcribing the records:

Digitising the registers (taking clean, straight, high-quality photos)
Processing the digitised pages by straightening, cropping and sharpening the images
Transcribing each page with a combination of AI tools
Matching each ITM with a registered marriage when possible
Human verification of the transcribed information

The main LLM (AI) used are the Google Gemini Pro and Flash models, which have excellent 'Vision' capabilities, and a generous free tier.

Archives NZ has released the register years they have digitised (1865-69, 1872, 1874 and 1880) under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.

The Intention to Marry registers (up to 1925) are more than 100 years old, so their Crown Copyright has expired, putting them in the public domain. This also applies to any 'mechanical reproductions' (eg, pictures or photocopies) of their content without substantial alteration.

The transcribed records on this website are released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal license, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes, while giving credit to the creator (NZ Intentions to Marry Project).